Page 10 - September 2025 - Truth & Tidings

n 1956, an international crisis erupted khaki or camouflage. They needed to be
over the Suez Canal involving Egypt, visibly distinguished from combatant
IIsrael, the United Kingdom and soldiers. They needed to be seen as neutral
France. To prevent full-scale war, the and non-aggressive rather than partisan
United Nations created its first armed and hostile.
peacekeeping force: the United Nations We, too, must remove our “combatant
Emergency Force. fatigues.” Our old camo pattern of at-
As peacemakers, we are armed with the titudes and actions must come off. Paul
truth of Colossians 3. One of our duties commands us, “You yourselves are to
is to “let the peace of God rule in your put off all these: anger, wrath, malice,
hearts, to which also you were called blasphemy, filthy language out of your
in one body” (Col 3:15). This “peace” mouth” (Col 3:8). “Anger” is our smolder-
1
is more than an inner calm; it’s also the ing hostility, deep-seated resentment and
accord between believers based on our lingering attitudes of bitterness. “Wrath”
reconciliation with God through Christ includes outbursts of rage, yelling and
(1:20). This is Christ-mediated peace, the a loss of control. “Malice” is our desire
kind He gives (Joh 14:27), seen both in- to see others hurt through intentional
ternally and communally. It is this peace cruelty or malevolent scheming. In this
that we, as peacemakers, must let “rule” context, “blasphemy” likely means our
or “arbitrate.” This peace becomes the being disrespectful or demeaning in what
deciding factor in how we respond during we say to or about others. And “filthy lan-
tension. “In your hearts” means the con- guage” is our speaking in vulgar, coarse
trol center of our being – our minds and or shameful ways. Wearing any of these
wills. When facing conflict and competing will lead to aggression rather than peace.
desires, we must let Christ’s peace dictate They are the combatant’s fatigues, not our
our internal and external responses. Paul peacemaker’s uniform.
tells us this isn’t optional – it’s the divine
calling of every believer, as those “called An Unpartisan Force
in one body.” Paul also reminds us that we are now
Removing Our Combatant part of a new creation – not of the UN, but
of God – where there is “neither Greek
Fatigues nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised,

UN peacekeepers come from different barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free” (v11).
nations, from armed forces with different While differences of nationality, culture
uniforms. But when the first peacekeep- and social standing divide our world, they
ers where being assembled, the UN knew must never divide us. We are united in
they couldn’t wear their national fatigues Christ, who “is all and in all” (v11).
in standard military colors like green, Our Blue Berets

1 Bible quotations in this article are from the The blue beret is one of the most rec-
NKJV unless otherwise noted. ognized symbols of peacekeeping in the

266 TRUTH kTidings September 2025